Calvinists like Schreiner and Caneday have made the argument that while believers can never forsake the faith, it is still reasonable to warn true believers against forsaking the faith since such warnings serve as a supposed “means” to keep believers from forsaking the faith, even though forsaking the faith is impossible and these believers would likewise know it is impossible (along with those like Paul who warn them against an apostasy that is impossible for them). Schreiner, aware of the way such a concept goes against common sensibilities (that a warning is pointless if that which is warned against cannot possibly happen to the person and the person knows it cannot possibly happen to them), attempts to find support for his contention in the narrative of Acts 27. Abasciano wrote an article addressing Schreiner’s specific appeal to Acts 27,
Brian Abasciano, “Acts 27 and the Possibility of Apostasy”
Filed under: apostasy, eternal security, perseverance |
Thanks so much for posting this! Schreiner’s argument is quite desperate here, and it is beneath him as an exegete. When good exegetes appeal to arguments as bad as this one to support their points, you can rest assured that there’s an 800-pound gorilla they are trying to fend off. Here, said gorilla is the crystal-clear biblical teaching that authentically regenerated believers can fall away from Christ. Gotta face the music, folks.